A New York Times investigation finds that many pregnant women are systematically sidelined at work, passed over for promotions and fired when they complain.
Reads, Listens
Reading list of books, magazines, newspaper articles, other physical documents, or online posts
Playlist of posts listened to, or scrobbled
Playlist of posts listened to, or scrobbled
👓 Nobel Prize for Medicine Goes to Cancer Immune Therapy Pioneers | Scientific American
Karen Weintraub (Scientific American)Two men are recognized for basic research that unleashed the immune system against cancer, becoming a new pillar of therapy
A nice quick overview of some basic cancer immune therapy.
👓 Shavian alphabet | Wikipedia
The Shavian alphabet (also known as the Shaw alphabet) is an alphabet conceived as a way to provide simple, phonetic orthography for the English language to replace the difficulties of conventional spelling. It was posthumously funded by and named after Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Shaw set three main criteria for the new alphabet: it should be (1) at least 40 letters; (2) as "phonetic" as possible (that is, letters should have a 1:1 correspondence to phonemes); and (3) distinct from the Latin alphabet to avoid the impression that the new spellings were simply "misspellings".
hat tip to
Quotes in #Shavian writing. This one, from Christopher Hitchens:
"One test of 'un homme sérioux' is that it is possible to learn from him even when one radically disagrees with him."#hitchens pic.twitter.com/r0svJipeLx
— William Borix (@boricensis) September 30, 2018
👓 Why you should learn the Skwxwú7mesh language | YOUR CONTEXT
As the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger puts it, Squamish is a ‘severely endangered’ language. However, the picture is not so gloomy. Current efforts to revitalize the Skwxwú7mesh language, and culture, include the amazing work by Kwi Awt Stelmexw, which has been collaborating with SFU for a full-time immersion program that produces fluent native speakers. Obviously, the venerable goal of this initiative it to ensure future Squamish generations speak their language and live their culture, as their natural, historical right.
I like where this piece is going, but at the rate we’re losing languages, it’s awfully difficult to know where to start… Sometimes just picking one and going with it can be of immense value.
This also reminds me of a powerful infographic about languages.
🎧 ‘The Daily’: What Migrants Are Fleeing | New York Times
For large numbers of migrants making the journey to the U.S. from Central America, staying in their native countries is no longer an option.
🎧 ‘The Daily’: The World Cup’s Mysterious Path to Russia | New York Times
The 2018 World Cup is now underway in Russia. How it ended up there involves some names you might recognize: Comey, Mueller and Steele.
👓 undo | IndieWeb
undo is a common action you can take (often a button or menu item) to reverse the effects of the previous action, as if the action had never occurred; on the indieweb, you may want to undo a post, a deletion, or an update.
👓 How Some Men Fake an 80-Hour Workweek, and Why It Matters | The New York Times
A look at how the professional world differs for men and women, and an implicit critique of a corporate culture that values long hours above all.
🎧 ‘The Daily’: Trump Ends His Child Separation Practice | New York Times
The president signed an executive order to keep immigrant parents and children together at the border. What happens now?
🎧 ‘The Daily’: 10 Years After the Financial Crisis | New York Times
A look at how the economic collapse exposed profound problems underlying the American dream.
What a great overview. So little has changed… I’m starting to think that our financial system is even more fragile than I had expected it might be.
🎧 ‘The Daily’: The Blasey-Kavanaugh Hearing | New York Times
In an extraordinary day of testimony, Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh came to embody a fractured nation.
👓 "The Danger of a Single Story" in Mathematics | Roots of Unity
The Lathisms podcast shares the varied stories of Hispanic and Latinx mathematicians
👓 Atiyah Riemann Hypothesis proof: final thoughts | The Aperiodical
After Sir Michael Atiyah’s presentation of a claimed proof of the Riemann Hypothesis earlier this week at the Heidelberg Laureate Forum, we’ve shared some of the immediate discussion in the aftermath, and now here’s a round-up of what we’ve learned.
I’m not sure I agree wholly with some of the viewpoint taken here, but I will admit that I was reading some of the earlier reports and not as much of the popular press coverage. Most reports I heard specifically mentioned the proof hadn’t been seen or gone over by others and suggested caution both as a result of that as well as the fact that Atiyah had had some recent false starts in the past several years. Some went as far as to mention that senior mathematicians in the related areas had not commented at all on the purported proof and hinted that this was a sign that they didn’t think the proof held water but also as a sign of respect for Atiyah so as not to besmirch his reputation either. In some sense, the quiet was kind of a kiss of death.
👓 Every time Ford and Kavanaugh dodged a question, in one chart | Vox
There was a striking difference in style — and substance.
An impressively telling visualization here.
👓 Sorry, Internet, Brett Kavanaugh's Missing Wedding Ring Isn't New | Gizmodo
Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee repeatedly accused of sexual misconduct, is currently blubbering before the Senate Judiciary Committee in an attempt to paint himself as a victim, a champion of women, and a family man. Naturally, some viewers noticed that, curiously, Kavanaugh’s left hand is absent of a wedding band.
I noticed this as I was watching the hearings today too. I’m curious if there’s more research to be done and what it looks like with some additional runway or follow-up.